Governor Cuomo is at it again! He is trying to expand abortion in New York.

As you may know, the state of New York has fewer restrictions on abortion than nearly every other state in the nation and almost double the national average of abortions. In fact, 1 in 10 abortions in the United States is performed in New York. But Governor Cuomo wants more.

We need your help to urge Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York Legislature to remove the abortion-expansion language from his budget plan once again.

The abortion-expansion measure will do nothing to help women. Combining unfettered access to abortion with the governor’s support for unlimited public funding of abortion does not help women – particularly those forced or coerced into abortion.

The abortion-expansion language would allow late-term abortions and would allow non-doctors to perform abortions in a state that already has one of the highest abortion rates. And the governor’s 2018-2019 budget proposed public funding for abortion with no cap on expenditures.

Cuomo is carrying the agenda for a minority group of pro-abortion radicals instead of fighting to advance the fundamental rights of women. If the governor were interested in addressing the real needs of women, his first stop would be New York City, where abortions outnumber live births. He might then realize that it is not access to abortion that women are lacking; it is support to carry their babies to term that women are lacking.

The March for Life never fails to inspire me and give me hope for our future. It is such an uplifting experience to be around thousands of people who have compassion for

human dignity. We received some much-needed encouragement and support for our message "pro-life for the whole life" and also for remaining in our Democratic Party to fight for those most vulnerable.

Our morning started off with breakfast and an incredible presentation by Tammy Ruiz about perinatal hospice. You can learn more by clicking here. I challenge you to keep a dry eye while watching this video. One of the most emotional parts of her speech involved a woman Tammy worked with after she received a prenatal diagnosis. The woman had everything in place and was prepared to deliver a child who would not survive. Fortunately, a medical diagnosis is not always correct, and her child is now six years old and healthy.

****The author (son of executive director Kristen Day) is a sixteen-year-old sophomore who attends Bishop O’Connell High School in Falls Church, Virginia

The March for Life was an amazing experience, just as it was last year. It really builds up one’s confidence to be part of something so big and inspirational. My day began at 6 a.m. when I woke up to get ready. I left at 7 with my mom to meet up with my junior friend at O’Connell High School, where we also saw some others walking inside to meet everyone going on the bus – for example, my freshman friend Sarah. My friend Erin had gotten dropped off, and we left for D.C.

We went to Old Ebbitt Grill, where breakfast was served in a private room. Tammy Ruiz gave a presentation about perinatal hospice. Perinatal hospice is a preparation of parents who choose life for their babies with life-threatening conditions that give them less than a day or an hour to live. It made me feel even more supportive of the Pro-life Movement to find out that such a thing existed.

Democrats For Life of America is keeping the people affected by Irma in our hearts and prayers.

DFLA'S DISAPPOINTMENT WITH DEMOCRATIC SENATORS

URGENT PRESS RELEASE BY KRISTEN DAY

"Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) expresses it's disappointment with Democratic senators and interest groups who are attacking federal court of appeals nominee Amy Barrett for her personal religious views on the dignity of human life at all stages."

We are very pleased to announce a second pro-life Democrat running for governor of a state, to join the ranks of Joshua Svaty of Kansas. South Dakota state senate Democratic leader Billie Sutton is running for governor of South Dakota.

Billie Sutton is a pro-life Democrat who is being called a conservative because of his position on abortion. Ironically, like Governor John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, he is more of a traditional Democrat who supported Obamacare, sponsored a bill for state-funded pre-school, and fought for scholarships for low-income families. You can read more by clickinghere.

South Dakota is a prime example of running the right person for the district. South Dakota used to be a Democratic stronghold, but now Republicans control the state senate by a 27-8 majority and the state house, where they have held a supermajority since 1976, by 58 to 12.

This could be a big win for Democrats if they get behind Billie. Only 5 of 32 governors have been Democrats. The most famous was pro-life Democrat Richard Kneip, who was elected three times, serving from 1971 to 1978. Democrats have not won since then.

To learn more about Billie Sutton, link to his campaign site by clicking here.

DFLA CHAPTER GROUPS GROWING ACROSS THE US

The Colorado Association will be hosting an important event on September 30, 2017, with Colorado Democratic gubernatorial candidate Erik Underwood. It is our hope to hear from as many Democratic candidates running for statewide office in 2018 as possible in the run-up to the November election.

Underwood wants to meet with pro-life Democrats to hear about the issues that animate us and what policies and legislative initiatives we support. DFLA of Colorado is enthused about this upcoming event and would like all of you who are in the area to attend. It is your opportunity to speak with a prominent Democrat about whole-life politics and the future of Colorado.

When it comes to understanding what it means to be a pro-life Democrat, all you need to do is look toward John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana. He is against abortion, stands for equal pay for equal work, stands for protecting the environment, and has expanded Medicaid to the working poor. He is a Southerner and a true backer of the Second Amendment. Bel Edwards reflects the values of his region and is doing the will of his people.

The Democratic Party needs to learn from his success as a pro-life Democrat in a state where the majority of people voted for Donald Trump. In the Politico article linked below, James Carville, a Democratic political strategist who never shies away from speaking the harsh truth, states, “The lesson [Edwards] offers is that these purists or ideological ayatollahs in the Democratic Party need to shut up and stand down.”

Thank you for your suggestions and votes on our social media contest. We will be posting this next week on Facebook to increase our numbers. Our goal is to reach 10,000 likes. You can help by spreading the word!

Democrats For Life of America (DFLA) expresses its disappointment with Democratic senators and interest groups who are attacking federal court of appeals nominee Amy Barrett for her personal religious views on the dignity of human life at all stages.

Vigorous questioning of President Trump's judicial nominees is needed to ensure that if confirmed to the court, they will follow the law and protect civil rights and liberties. But Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) stepped over a crucial line when she told Barrett in Wednesday's confirmation hearing: "The dogma lives loudly within you. And that's of concern when it comes to big issues."

Feinstein really means one issue, of course: abortion. And what she denigrates as "dogma" is the Catholic teaching that a human being is a person with dignity from the moment of conception--a belief held by millions of Americans, including believers of all faiths and nonbelievers alike.

But Senator Feinstein has no basis for holding this "dogma" against Professor Barrett. The nominee repeatedly made it clear that as a judge on a lower federal court, she would follow her oath to decide cases not by her personal views, but according to the law as set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court. Sen. Feinstein had no evidence with which to question those assurances. So instead she suggested that Barrett's statements could not be trusted because "the dogma lives loudly within [her]."

Feinstein's statement is blatantly inconsistent with Article VI of the Constitution, which says that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office ... under the United States."

Unbelievably, senators and interest groups have attacked Barrett with a 20-year-old article she co-wrote--not about abortion, but about Catholic judges conscientiously opposed to the death penalty!

That article noted the strong Catholic teaching against capital punishment, and it said that a Catholic judge who opposed issuing a death sentence might have to remove ("recuse") herself from the case, which is a well-established practice. The article made it clear that recusal would be the proper step: The judge may not stay on the case and rule according to personal beliefs instead of the law.

Yet Democratic senators and supposedly "progressive" interest groups are claiming that Barrett said she would impose her beliefs upon the law—when, in fact, she said the exact opposite.

In other words: Barrett said that a judge should never contradict the law but should remove himself from a case if he, in conscience, believes that ordering the execution of a human being would be immoral. And Democratic senators are expressing "concern" about that. When did our party--which once stood up for the conscientious claims of civil-rights marchers--become so fearful and dismissive of personal moral conscience?

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), following Feinstein's lead, asked Professor Barrett whether she considers herself an "orthodox Catholic." Since when did it become a practice of Democratic officeholders to inquire, with a critical eye, how a nominee characterizes her personal faith?

What causes our party's leaders to lose their compass and stray from basic Democratic principles? The answer is plain: abortion.

Democratic leaders remain so committed to protecting abortion from even minimal threats that they'll trample on other principles to do so. A nominee repeatedly makes it clear that she won't impose her personal beliefs as a judge--that she'll remove herself from a case if she faces a conflict of conscience. But Democrats still reject her because they think that she has strong personal religious beliefs ("dogma").

It's another example of how the Democratic Party loses its way when it focuses on protecting rigid abortion-rights ideology to the exclusion of all other principles. That same misguided focus has caused the party to lose all branches of the federal government and, in the last eight years, 1000 legislative seats around the country.

Question Amy Barrett and other Trump nominees vigorously. But be accurate in characterizing what they say. And don't violate constitutional values by concluding that their religious beliefs make them untrustworthy to follow the law.

DFLA Mission Statement

Democrats For Life of America advocates and supports programs and policies that respect and promote life from conception to natural death. This includes, but is not limited to, opposition to abortion, capital punishment, and euthanasia. Learn more...